Through the Footworkology Summer Camp, we serve young people from Chicago’s South and West Sides by offering free instruction (for all Chicagoans) in Footwork dance, music production, and cultural education led by pioneering artists who helped shape the form. 

These same artists are being honored at our inaugural Chicago Footwork Awards Ceremony on August 15, 2025, held at the Newberry Library. This event highlights local excellence while recognizing service and mentorship within the community. In partnership with the Chicago Dance History Project and Newberry Library, Creative Netwerk has conducted multiple oral history interviews with these foundational artists to document and preserve their stories for future generations. These materials will be archived and made publicly accessible through the Newberry Library website, ensuring this vital history becomes part of Illinois’s collective record. In doing so, we are uplifting local stories, promoting place-based celebration, and building a platform that reflects both where we come from and where we are going together as a state.